Tuesday, October 28, 2014

They came expecting to build a block and mortar building. They came hoping to dedicate a building at the end of their time. But the Botswanian Land Board and God had other plans. Instead of building A church they spent their 10 days building THE church. They did not build it through manual labor instead they built and encouraged the church through building relationships and helping to draw people to Christ.

Instead of building a building the team worked together and set up a tent along the main road in the village of Bokaa Botswana. The tent was the place where 5 evangelistic services were held, where the Word of God was preached, where there were testimonies given, where God changed lives, where God was worshipped regardless of skin color or nationality. Sunday Morning the tent was where a couple area churches combined together for a morning worship service and Sunday School. The white and blue tent was also the place where we held several VBS type services for the children of Bokaa. Bible stories were told, games were played, songs were sung, dances were taught and then danced and there were lots of smiles and laughs.

On Friday the team was also able to see the site where the Bokaa Church of the Nazarene will be built. Currently the church is meeting in the home of the pastor. The Circleville Team was able to walk around the property and catc

h the vision of the Pastor. They were also able to spend some time praying for the church and ministry that the church will be a part of. The team gathered in a circle and sang a few hymns and shared how God was speaking to them in those moments. They were also able to spend some time encouraging and praying for the local pastor. It was a powerful time spent together.

The team visited the nearby Primary School and got to visit most of the classrooms and afterwards pray with the teachers and headmaster. The headmaster also shared some of the struggles the students and teachers face. As we were walking back to the tent we were able to stop in a visit with someone from the community and we were able to pray for the husband of one of the teachers who was sick.

The beauty of building relationships instead of building buildings is that age and strength are not factors. The teenager of the team was a huge bridge builder. And gave us plenty to laugh about. He tried with everything he had to catch a chicken, goat, and a cow. He had a little help from several of the young boys of the village in catching the chicken and goat. But Botswanan and American alike got lots of good laughs watching him and several of the village young boys taking off after the goats and chickens around the village. When he was not chasing animals he was easy to find because he was almost always surrounded by a group of guys playing a game of catch or chase. The oldest member of the team was able to connect with several of the village ladies as well as able to encourage several of the female pastors who were there. And all the other team members were able to connect with people in various ways and encourage, pray for, laugh with or share with those they came in contact with. God was clearly at work in the 10 days the Circleville Team was in Botswana. We know that the relationships built and commitments made will have eternal impact. Thank you Circleville W&W Team for being the hands and feet of Christ and for building THE Church!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

This past weekend we were blessed to be a part of the South Field NMI Convention. NMI Leaders from local churches and the districts that make up the South Field came together for times of worship, conversation, and learning together. At one point during the weekend I was struck again by the realization that we live in South Africa and have the amazing privilege of ministering with and learning from our brothers and sisters here. I was also struck again by how blessed we are with family and friends who love, support and pray for us! Thank you for helping to make our ministry here possible!

The weekend before that we went camping with some missionary friends of ours who are also serving here in Jo’berg at the Theology College. It was a great weekend of camping, hiking, and rock climbing. It was a great time to get away and reflect some on the past few months. Also it was great to be camping again. Joe also enjoyed to continue to work on his new hobby, rock climbing.

We have also been working on getting things painted and completed in the Field Office. We also moved the things that were in storage into the office and we bought an office plant. Now we just need to work on getting some pictures and things hung on the wall. We are planning on having some sort of Open House/Office once we get more settled and inviting our office neighbors and the nearby leaders on the field.

We are getting ready to receive another Work and Witness team. On October 15th, the team arrives from the states in the evening. Then the next day we head to Botswana with them for 10 days. We will be joining our fellow Nazarenes there in building a church building as well as doing several outreach events. We are excited to see how God will use His servants to do His work in Botswana.

In case you were wondering, our garden is doing great and soon I will be able to have a garden salad from my own garden. J

Until next time remember a smile goes a long way especially when you are asking for help or for directions.